I've hardly listened to Bitter Rivals or You Don't Get Me Twice and Tiger Kit isn't doing it for me either so it's definitely a more disjointed listen than Treats or Reign of Terror for me. But the high points are really fucking high- Sugarcane, Sing Like A Wire, To Hell With You and 24 are (tentatively) as good or better than everything they've done before.

Really don't get them. "In 2013, it's no longer enough simply to be loud". Yes, the world has changed so much in the 3 long long years since Treats.

I really can't see what is supposed to be the fundamental difference between the songs/sounds of Treats and the same of Bitter Rivals. The latter has slightly more diverse instrumentation without taking a radical departure from their 'sound' -- which only makes the album more interesting. (Having said that, I would love a reprise of the Joe Satriani-ish guitar of Tell 'Em.)

The claim that the two lead tracks are the weakest on the album is particularly perplexing. To my ears, both tracks have great melodies/hooks presented filtered through Sleigh Bells' grin-inducing mash of distorted/metal guitars and pop sensibilities. They would slot in amongst the tracks on Treats absolutely seamlessly. The only thing that perhaps marks thr as different from the songs on Treats is the cheeky use of acoustic guitar -- which is itself enough to counter any claims that they're 'not doing anything new' (as if remaking Treats over and over again could ever be a bad thing).